Seattle — LevelTen Energy has closed a three-project renewable energy portfolio purchased by Starbucks, comprising wind and solar farms in North Carolina, Oklahoma and Texas. The power purchase agreement portfolio will provide clean power to the electricity grids that serve more than 3,000 U.S. Starbucks stores and communities by 2021, when all three projects are online.
The portfolio was purchased from developers ALLETE Clean Energy, Apex Clean Energy, BayWa r.e. and Cypress Creek Renewables. Custom-built for Starbucks using LevelTen Energy’s technology-enabled procurement platform, the portfolio aggregates three strategically-located power purchase agreements (PPAs), each with nearly-identical terms, from three distinct project developers. This portfolio transaction, in which a corporate buyer simultaneously procures a fraction of the power generated by multiple new projects, is unprecedented.
The portfolio incorporates 146 total megawatts from three new renewable energy projects: 50 megawatts of wind power from an ALLETE Clean Energy project in the SPP market, acquired from Apex Clean Energy; 50 megawatts of solar power from a Cypress Creek Renewables project in the ERCOT market, and 46 megawatts of solar power from a BayWa r.e. project in the PJM market.
“As we continue to strive towards building and operating the world’s largest green retail business, we know we need to find innovative business models to achieve our renewable energy goals,” says Patrick Leonard, energy manager for Starbucks’ company-operated stores in the United States and Canada. “Not only does this portfolio model allow us to support new solar and wind farms that will deliver the clean energy equivalent to the electricity powering over 3,000 stores, it also opens the door for many new buyers to cost-effectively source smaller amounts of renewable energy.”
As more corporate and industrial entities seek to procure renewable energy, longtime buyers like Starbucks help guide the industry by supporting innovative PPA deal structures. The portfolio model — much like a mutual fund — minimizes risk and allows buyers to capture the scale pricing benefits of the country’s largest, most economically attractive projects. The geographical and technological diversification inherent in a portfolio also better complements’ Starbucks’ energy footprint and strategy.
LevelTen Energy team.
“The Starbucks portfolio PPA demonstrates the promise of new renewable energy purchasing models,” says Bryce Smith, founder and CEO of LevelTen Energy. “Starbucks is setting an important precedent in the corporate energy procurement space by demonstrating how a single off-taker can safely and easily procure shares of renewable energy from a variety new wind and solar projects. This approach enables many more corporate and institutional buyers to support, in a fiscally responsible way, the massive buildout of new clean energy projects across the globe.”
LevelTen Energy is a renewable energy procurement platform that reduces the cost, complexity and risk of renewable energy PPAs by connecting buyers and sellers through analytics, aggregation and process best practices. Founded in 2016, LevelTen Energy is located in Seattle. For more information, visit https://leveltenenergy.com/.
ALLETE Clean Energy, a wholly owned subsidiary of ALLETE Inc., acquires, develops and operates clean and renewable energy projects. ALLETE Clean Energy also engages in the development of wind energy facilities to operate under long-term PSAs or for sale to others upon completion. For more information, visit http://alletecleanenergy.com/.
Apex Clean Energy develops, constructs and operates utility-scale wind and solar power facilities across North America. For more information, visit www.apexcleanenergy.com.
Cypress Creek Renewables develops, builds and operates solar facilities across the United States. For more information, visit https://ccrenew.com.
BayWa r.e is a leading global renewable energy developer, service supplier, wholesaler and energy solutions provider. For more information, visit www.us.baywa-re.com.
SOURCE: LevelTen Energy